Final Reflection

1. Read through my blog

2. The most formative experience was probably the first round of customer interviews I did. I learned a lot about conducting interviews through it, and about asking specific questions that need more than one word answers. This helped me through all of the other interviews that I performed. The experience that I'll remember for years to come is also the experience that I am the most proud in completing. This is the free money exercise. I thought it would be very awkward to give people money, and to find a good explanation as to why I was giving away money. This experience not only made me a lot more comfortable interviewing people, but it also made me have to use some entrepreneurial knowledge to be able to come up with creative reasons as to why I was giving away free money. My most joyous experience was interview entrepreneurs that could help me benefit and actually create my business venture. It helped me see that my idea is reachable, and that with research and a game plan I can achieve my business venture. 

3. I do not believe that I am exactly an entrepreneur. I think that I have gained a lot of knowledge about what it means to be an entrepreneur, and what I have to do if I want to become one. Being an entrepreneur takes time and effort, and this course has helped me to understand the steps that I need to take in order to become a successful entrepreneur. 

4. I recommend students that are going to be taking this class to be very organized. This is not an extremely hard course, but it is a course that has a lot to teach people. I would urge students to take the class seriously, and to take the time to complete all of the assignments. Also, do not wait till the last minute to complete assignments. I recommend students to try to always be a week ahead of the class, and to use the class to really learn and get to know what it means to be an entrepreneur. This is a great course to help students expand on their ideas, and understand the steps they need to take in order to make those thoughts and ideas into a reality. 

Week 15 Reading Reflection

1. I was very surprised that micro financing has a 99.5% repayment rate.

2. I was not confused by any part of the reading. It all made sense to me.

3. What is the long-term plan of the company? Do they plan to expand?
Is customer loyalty that big of an influence of the growth of a business?

4. I do not think the author was wrong about anything.

Venture Concept No. 2

1.

Opportunity:

Through the course of the semester, I have looked at and read about many different business ventures. By seeing what other people thought about, and how they developed their ideas about their businesses, I began to realize an unmet need that I believed could be fulfilled with a great business idea. As a college student, I know that getting around campus is not always the easiest thing. I have used the bus system, and I know that at many times it can be unreliable, and that the phone application does not always work properly. Through this, and some testimonials from other students that I interviewed, I came up with the idea of a scooter rental service. This idea seemed feasible enough, and there are even zipcars on campus to show that a rental service is possible and can generate profits. The potential customers for this service are mostly students from the university. Students are the customers that would use this service the most, but it is open to teachers, staff, and anyone else on campus that is of age and has a valid license. I see this as an unmet need because, I know first-hand how frustrating it can be to not have a reliable source of transportation around campus. Being late to class, meetings, intramural sports matches, etc. can be avoided by this venture. This opportunity was created as the university has grown and people have had to move farther away from campus in order to find a place to live. Also, people are only moving a couple of miles away, which is the perfect distance for a scooter. People can walk and waste a lot of time, or depend on the unreliable bus system. My business venture will eliminate both of these problems.

This market is defined demographically by college students between the ages of 18 to 23 years old. It is defined geographically by universities that are located in areas were most things are very close by. For example, in the University of Florida and the surrounding areas you can get anywhere by driving for about 5 minutes. Customers are currently satisfying this need by walking, biking, or figuring out the bus system. Customers are not very loyal to any of these three products or services, and they usually switch around all three of them. This opportunity can be large in the market in which it would be positioned. The opportunity window will be open for a couple of years, until either another better option is presented or companies begin to enter into the market by using this same opportunity.

Innovation:

            This service is moderately innovative. It would work in much of the same way that zipcars work today. The scooters would be parked at designated scooter parking spots. These would be specially highlighted spots, so that the customer would know that these are rental scooters. There would be a number pad programed on each scooter that would be used to turn the scooters on and off. The customer will be given this number to operate the scooter on our website after they have purchased the service. After a customer is done using the scooter, the number pad would automatically generate a different code for the next person. Each customer would have to create an account online on our website to be able to purchase this service. Also, when creating an online account, we would verify the customer’s eligibility to drive by having them provide their license plate number along with a scanned copy of their license. Then the customer must sign a liability waiver online, to ensure that they operate the scooter safely, and to ensure us that they know how to operate the scooter. In the liability waiver there would also be a part stating that the company is not liable for any accident, and that the customer must pay for any damages done to the scooter during use. Afterwards, the customer would have to provide a credit card to be able to pay for the service. For this service there would be a monthly fee of $30, and gasoline would not be included in the scooter. Also, there would be a fee if a scooter were returned without any gasoline. Since filling up the tank of a scooter is about $2, we believe that this is a cost that the customer can easily take care of. Each scooter would come with a decal to be able to park it anywhere around campus.

            On the website customers will be able to select how long they want to rent the scooter for: Hours, Days, Weeks, or Months.

If a customer rents a scooter for a day and decides that they would like to keep it longer, they can extend their rental by going online. If a customer keeps the scooter longer than they had requested then there will be a penalty fee of $5 for a day, $10 for two days, $15 for three days, and so on.

Venture Concept:

This venture will save people time. It will give students a reliable form of transportation. No longer will students be late to class, a meeting, work, etc. because of unreliable transportation. Customers would switch to this product not only because it is a reliable source of transportation, but also because it gives them the freedom to go wherever they want whenever they want. I believe it will be relatively easy to get people to switch over since it is an inexpensive product and it provides them with a great service.

Currently, the competitors are the bus system and shops that sell scooters or bicycles. The bus system’s weakness is that it is extremely unreliable, and even the phone application does not always work properly. The shops that sell scooters have them at a price of around $800 or more, and this can be way too expensive for college students. The weakness of bicycles is that they will not get you places in a timely manner, you may have to leave a lot earlier to get somewhere on time, and if you are going to an important meeting you may be sweaty by the time you get there.

My price point is very inexpensive. This will help to get customers to buy into my service, and at least try it. My business would not need many employees. I believe that with about 5 employees it would be able to succeed, at least at the beginning. These employees would be in charge of periodically checking the scooters and reporting any and all problems. Also, they would have to keep up with the website and any emails they receive from the customers.

Minor Elements:

            My most important resource will be my ability to connect with my customers. Since I am a college student and I can completely understand their situation, I can make a lasting connection with my customers.

            The next set for my venture would be to sell discount scooters. These scooters would be the rental scooters that I currently have. After a couple of years of the scooters being used, I would sell them at a discounted price to compete against scooter stores. I would also try to work together with a scooter repair shop in case I need to repair anything on scooters. I could also bring them more business if they could provide students that purchase my scooter with discount repairs. 

            In five years I expect to be providing this service to most campuses in the state of Florida, and at least to three campuses in each state nearby.

2. The feedback I received was mostly positive. Most people agree that this is a great idea, and that it could be very useful. Some concerns were about insurance and to maybe try to form an alliance with a scooter repair company. 

3. I added to my venture concept by stating that we will have a liability waiver. This waiver would state that our company is not liable for anything that happens to the person while they are using the scooter. Also, if there are any damages to the scooter, the person using it must pay to repair it. In the waiver there is also a part that will acknowledge that the person using the scooter knows how to operate it before renting it. 

Elevator Pitch No. 4

1. The Pitch

2. The thing that stood out to me the most was the fact that people do see scooter parking as a problem, and that this service would be very useful. Also, there was a concern that the valet employees would not be able to find a spot, and could worsen the parking situation. I was able to fix some of the other concerns people had in my pervious 3 elevator pitches, so that was the only concern that really stood out.

3. In this pitch I added that the valet staff would park the scooters in the parking garage if needed, since those places usually have a good amount of scooter parking. The reason why parking garages aren't utilized is because they are farther away from classes or meeting rooms on campus. I kept everything from my previous pitches that I thought was very important, and informed students of how this service will actually work.

Week 14 Reading Reflection

1. I was surprised at how much power the EU, WTO, and NAFTA have in helping entrepreneurs. I did not think they had so much control.

2. I was confused about the CEAI. This was a new model that I had not heard about, so I was a bit confused when I first read about it.

3. Why have the jobs for corporate entrepreneurs been on the rise recently?
How did you develop the CEAI?

4. I did not disagree with anything in the reading.

Google Gold

1. In order to make my blog stand out I decided to write long, detailed blog posts for each assignment. I also attempted to use key words, and made sure that everything pertained to my venture and entrepreneurship as a whole.

2. Some of my key words were 'business' 'entrepreneurship' 'venture' and 'college students'. I selected these words in order to try and reach the people that I wanted to view the blog. I refined it throughout the semester by mentioning 'college' and the geographic of people I wanted to reach more often in my blog posts.

3. I could have used social media more to promote my blog. The only thing I did was post it on Facebook. Through this more people viewed my blog posts. I only did this once throughout the semester. I could have used twitter to promote my blog, and add more views. I believe that social media would definitely have helped my blog more, and I would use it more to promote my business venture in the future.

4. My venture concept post obtained the most traffic. I believe that the key word of 'venture' helped, and that I added a lot of detail to the post. Also, I used what I had learn in class to write that blog, and I think that using the tools I obtained definitely helped.

5. I did not make it to the first page in google from my key words. My words were used by too many people, and they ended up being too broad. I did not make it to the first 6 pages of google. I need to be more specific with my key words.

Very Short Interview, Part 2

1. My impression on the first interview is that I had a lot to learn, and that I needed to come into this course with an open mind. Also, everything that I have learned from this course make up the basic structure for becoming an entrepreneur. In order to be an entrepreneur and become an expert in what I choose to do I must take years to build my business venture and learn from any mistakes and risks that I take. I have also learned that it is very hard to explain exactly what an entrepreneur, and in reality to be an entrepreneur you must be someone with a great idea, a great deal of research on how to make your idea come true, and you must have the courage to fail and risk it all for your idea.

2. Interview: I was not able to record the interview with my entrepreneur, so I wrote down my questions and his answers.

Question 1: What has been your biggest struggle since starting you business?
Response: At the beginning it was difficult to find the capital to fund my business. I have partners, and we worked together and used our networking skills along with bank loans to be able to make our business come to life. Also, we struggle a bit while learning to market our business and on how to cater to the Gainesville community while providing high quality food.

Question 2: How did you decide to become an entrepreneur?
Response: I started off working a normal job and having my own boss, just like most people do. I had an idea with a couple of friends, and I wanted to be able to have my own hours. I could motivate myself better by being an entrepreneur, since having a restaurant was a passion of mine. When we finished doing our research, and began to actually run the place, I knew this had been the right choice for me. I always wanted to be my own boss, and be able to make the hard decisions and take risks.

Question 3: What is the most important skill for an entrepreneur?
Response: Organization is key. If you aren't organized you will not succeed. Every Sunday before I go to sleep I make sure I know what I am doing for at least the next week. I have my days planned in advance, and this helps if there is ever any problem or if an unforeseen event comes up. In order to have a successful business you must be organized.

I was very comfortable when I performed my second interview with this entrepreneur. I felt like I understood what he was saying a little better than before, and I was more open to hearing what he had to say. I have known this entrepreneur for some time, and I believe that both interviews had some very insightful and intelligent thoughts. Overall, I think he believe that I had learn some new things based on the second interview, and that I now have a better understanding on what being an entrepreneur is about.

Week 13 Reading Reflection

1. The biggest surprise to me was the different ways that people value ventures. It is very interesting to see how different people can value ventures, and why they would pick one way over another.

2. I was not confused by anything in the reading.

3. What is the best way to value a venture and why? Why is the discounted earnings method such a great way to evaluate a venture?

4. I did not disagree with anything the author said.

Celebrating Failure

1. This semester I failed a case study that I had for my business management class. The case study had to do with looking at a company's financial statements to decide if a bank should grant a loan to the company to try to expand or not.

2. I learned a couple of things from this experience. I definitely needed to use my time more efficiently while working on this, and I should of gone to my professor to get help. Also, I could have allocated more time to work on this case study. It taught me that I am not always going to get the grade that I want, but that I can always better myself and learn from my mistakes.

3. I believe that failure can be hard, specially if you have put a great deal of time into something. I usually handle failure well, and I try to use it as a growing experience. At times I have been ashamed of myself for failing at things that I know I can do. This has pushed me to learn to prioritize my life better, and it has helped me to put more effort into work and school. This class has taught me that in order to succeed we must sometimes fail. This class has also taught me that taking risks is important, and that there is a lot to learn from taking risks. Also, there is a lot that can be gained from risks. I am more likely to take risks now, as long as they are calculate risks and adequate research has been done beforehand.

My Exit Strategy

I intend to stay with this business for the foreseeable future. I believe it is a great venture idea, and I think that after the first five years or so it will greatly expand. I think that there are enough small town college campuses that could benefit from this idea. Also, I believe that I can easily expand the market to include small beach and tourist towns. I will most likely just pass down this company through my children. My main intent on this venture is to help out college students, and not to gain huge profits. I believe that if I were to sell this company, then large corporations would care more about making money, and not helping college students. As a college students, I believe that we already have too many things that we spend large amounts of money on, and reliable transportation is hard to find if you do not plan on spending a lot of money. Also, college students will be the future of our economy, and we should help them out if we can. I believe my exit strategy has made me work harder on the other decisions I have made. Since I would want to keep this company and pass it down to my children, I have made a bigger effort on researching many things. I have spent more time thinking about costs, if people would actually use this idea, and on making sure I get feedback from the customers that I would be looking to target.

Week 12 Reading Reflection

1. I was surprised that short-run failures could actually positively benefit the company in the long-run.

2. I was not confused with any part of the reading.

3. What is the most important thing to understand about capital markets in order to utilize them well in your business decisions?
How will my company be benefited from the entrepreneurial strategy mix?

4. I did not disagree with the author about anything in particular.